Amazing as it may seem, not all of us in this country are preparing for Christmas at the moment. In fact some of us regularly spend this time of the year trying hard not to become completely swamped by all the trappings of this Christian festival that has made it so much more – a largely all-embracing secular festival which seems to ignore the fact that other faith groups do not observe it! The Jewish community is one faith group that does not celebrate Christmas. Somewhere around this time of the year, Jews celebrate Chanukah, which means 'dedication'. This is not a major festival in the Jewish calendar. It is not mentioned in the Bible, but in the books of the Maccabees. There we find the story of a small band of Jewish freedom fighters who liberated the Land of Israel from the yoke of Hellenistic culture, imposed by the Syrian King Antiochus in about 167 BCE (Before the Common Era). In an attempt to stamp out Judaism, Antiochus defiled the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabees took three years to fight off this threat and to re-dedicate the Temple. Chanukah – the Festival of Lights
 | | The Talmud: Jewish laws and traditions |
Later in Jewish history this was referred to as the Festival of Lights rather than as Chanukah, perhaps because of the metaphoric light of liberation, and that name has also stayed with this festival. It is not until some 500 years after the event that the Talmud records the famous miraculous story that has also become part of the Chanukah story. When the Maccabees recaptured the Temple, they found only enough oil to keep the Everlasting Light (a symbol of God's presence) burning for one night. However, miraculously it lasted for eight nights until more supplies arrived. So there you have it: a minor festival based partly on historical events and partly on legend! How do Jews celebrate Chanukah today? We light a special candlestick, a Chanukiah, which holds one candle for each of the eight days of the miracle, and a 'servant' candle, the one with which we light the other candles. Each night we light another candle, starting with one candle for the first night and increasing to eight on the last night. It is customary to place the candlestick in the window for all to see. When is it? The first night is on the 25th Kislev – always the same date in the Jewish calendar. However, the Jewish calendar doesn't coincide with the secular calendar, so it appears to be a 'moving feast'. It usually falls sometime in December, and this year the first night, sometimes just known as the 'first candle' is on December 25th. Traditions and that all important food! There are various traditions associated with this festival. The first – very important in Jewish culture - is the food we eat! It is customary to eat foods made with oil – latkes or potato pancakes, and doughnuts. (Not sure how the health food lobby would view this!) Another is the game of spinning the dreidl. This is a gambling game and the dreidl is a spinning top with a different letter on each side. The letters correspond to a numerical value, but they also stand for 'A Great Miracle Happened Here' in Hebrew. | "So there you have it: a minor festival based partly on historical events and partly on legend!" | | Judy Plaut |
In recent times it has become traditional to give presents at Chanukah, often one present to each child on each night of Chanukah. This seems to have developed in response to the overwhelming pressure from secular and Christian society. Celebrating Chanukah in West Yorkshire The main population of Jews in West Yorkshire is in Leeds. According to the last census there are Jews scattered all over West Yorkshire (and all over the country). However, we are a very small minority – only some 300,000 in the whole of the UK. In Leeds there is civic recognition of this festival in the Civic Hall, where a Chanukiah is lit on each night of Chanukah. This candle lighting and singing of the traditional Chanukah song Ma-oz Tsur – a retelling of the Chanukah story – will also be happening in Jewish homes for eight nights, beginning on December 25th this year. Happy Chanukah! | 
